An observation in Volumetrics...

Well, after the gym tonight I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some things. If anyone has been to the Madison West Wal-Mart they know that it is an old, crusty, dirty store that was probably built back in the late 80s. It has a very 'retro' Wal-Mart feel to it, and although many would despise the store for many or all obvious reasons, I feel somewhat drawn to its strikingly familiar and simple 'no-frills' approach. I like the weird people who shop there, I like the grumpy employees, the crazy old man cart greeter, and the 'new' subway that replaced the McDs so that Wal-Mart would not get sued for enabling people to take the classic approach of killing themselves with Big Macs- they can now choose to kill themselves with questionable processed meats and carcinogens. I digress... (I HATE cold cuts)

I got distracted by the expanded grocery section and made the impulse decision to get some cereal. I am not a 'regular' cereal eater, but on occasion, I like to buy a box, and eat it. Cereal is just one of those on occasion different foods to get. I was looking at the Kashi cereals, I think simply because I am a Kashi frozen waffle junkie. Those little hockey pucks of goodnes are heavenly, and at just 140 kcal for 2 waffles, my tummy won't be rumbling in patients ears until about 10:30am.

So, in my usual, nerdy fashion, I start perusing the labels for the kcal info and serving size. Then I get distracted: there it was, a box of Lucky Charms!!! Now, I haven't eaten this stuff since I think middle school. I LOVED lucky charms in middle school! I looked at the kcals: 110 kcal for 1c of Lucky Charms!!!!!!! This is almost HALF of what the Kashi stuff is thowing down for sometimes 3/4c!!!!!

So, I look at more of the cereals that would be 'frowned' upon from a micronutrient standpoint:
Hannah Montana cereal- 110 kcal/ 1c
High School Musical cereal- 120 kcal/ 1c
Cap'n Crunch 109 kcal/ 3/4 c
Fruit Loops 118 kcal/ 1 c

Now, lets compare:
Kashi Go Lean crunch 190 kcal/ 1 c
Kashi Autumn Wheat 190 kcal/ 1c
Weight Watchers Flakes and Fiber 180 kcal/ 1c
Kashi Oat flakes with Blueberry 200 kcal/1c

As far as i am concered, all cereals are just a big bowl of simple CHO. Grains aren't a source of much of anything- I don't care how 'whole grain' they are.

Bottom line:
I'll take the sugary cereals, and call them health food! They really ARE magically delicious!!!!

The n+1...

I know that I haven't been posting much lately. My life has been boring enough that I really didn't want to bore anyone with the mundane... blah... went to work... came home... I did xx% FTP for XX min and XX recov and blah blah T pace, M pace, R pace, yadda yadda, ate this ate that nutrition this blah stuff. You know. It is simply what I do. I haven't even had too many random ruminations to write about.

One thing that has been outstanding is my spending more time at the gym running on the treadmill. I know I have babbled about my once ex, now lover- the treadmill and how i have warmed up to its perfection of training in all forms. My laboratory-grade perfect workout. :)

Now, I have gotten used to the crowd at the gym, and I like the crowd at the gym. You have your usual cast of characters, all whom I give credit and appreciate their being there: Cardiac rehab man (mid 50s male pushing 300, with 200 of that being stored as visceral fat- I just look around, make sure I know where the AED is, and continue on, just making sure he is still alive breathing and sweating profusely in while walking), chemo runner guy (this guy is of undetermined age, 6'1", 125ish lbs in sweaty clothing, shaved head, and is usually wearing the essential singlet and split shorts, he appears as though he is undergoing chemo, but I believe is actually just determined to stay at his ideal marathon race weight year round), the I really like wearing a bike chamois to work out in and never bike man (ewwww), incline treadmill girl (walks at 2 mph at max incline while reading us weekly), Big dude who can haul a$$ on the treadmill (enough said), and a mix of other folk. A rare, but interesting species is the n+1... I got the pleasure or running today next to the n+1...

The n+1 is a rare but proud species. He prowls the gym until he finds his prey and gets on the treadmill beside. The attire is usually a cotton Hanes that has likely been used before and taken out of the gym bag without laundering, and some basketbal shorts with equal sanitation. He will immediately look over, and based upon your speed, will automatically set his treadmill at your speed +1 (or I should say, .1, but you get my drift). The n+1 does not believe in a warmup or cool down, it is simply hop on and hop off the rails. His workout will likely start at a nice gait, but then he realizes the critical error in his original assumption. He grabs onto the heart rate rails, then hunches over, his gait then starts to resemble the floppy running style of a large bird. (This is the point where I like to start my intervals and crank up the speed another 2 mph) He then grabs onto the side hand rails, and proceeds to lock his elbows to hold his torso stable while the feet are pounding the deck. The last step of desperation is the bear hug of the display. At this point, he will step onto the rails, and 'take a drink' for a while, just to hop back on to start again. Each 'interval' is a few min long. I have not figured out the n+1, nor do I know his (ill) logic; however, I do appreciate his company and entertainment.